How to find last minute flight deals?
October 8, 2015 9:29 AM Subscribe
I may need to fly across the U.S. (SMF to BDL) at the last minute. I'm looking for deals but so far have turned up nothing below $900 for a round trip flight. Yowza. I'm looking at Kayak which brings up priceline, Expedia, travelocity, eDreams, and OneTravel. Where else should I look?
If you're flying because of a death in the family, most airlines will give discounted bereavement fares. You'd need to communicate with the airline directly rather than through aggregators, deal sites, etc.
posted by hootenatty at 9:34 AM on October 8, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by hootenatty at 9:34 AM on October 8, 2015 [2 favorites]
Do you have some ability to travel to nearby airports (i.e. SFO instead of SMF, or BOS instead of BDL)?
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:37 AM on October 8, 2015
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:37 AM on October 8, 2015
Best answer: ita is the backbone of google and other sites possibly may have unique details.
bing flights is worth a check, seems to currently redirect to msn
Continue rechecking until you make the buy, it's a crazy market these days, good luck.
posted by sammyo at 9:38 AM on October 8, 2015 [4 favorites]
bing flights is worth a check, seems to currently redirect to msn
Continue rechecking until you make the buy, it's a crazy market these days, good luck.
posted by sammyo at 9:38 AM on October 8, 2015 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: My trip is for a sick relative. I'm not sure how long I'll be there. I was searching RT flights but I'm thinking one-way might be better rather than having to change the outbound flight. I've changed outbound flights for free before but that was due to inclement weather in the area. Thanks everyone.
posted by onecircleaday at 9:39 AM on October 8, 2015
posted by onecircleaday at 9:39 AM on October 8, 2015
The drive to sfo <> jfk is certainly worth a search to see if there's a significant differential.
Flight changes are almost all require a fee ($100+) these days.
posted by sammyo at 9:41 AM on October 8, 2015
Flight changes are almost all require a fee ($100+) these days.
posted by sammyo at 9:41 AM on October 8, 2015
Kayak doesn't search Southwest flights, so that may be worth checking too, especially since they don't charge change fees, only the fare difference. However, Southwest's pricing goes up three weeks and one week before departure so they're probably expensive now.
posted by carolr at 9:44 AM on October 8, 2015
posted by carolr at 9:44 AM on October 8, 2015
I don't have any real tricks (priceline?), but the drive from BOS to BDL is quite easy, about 2 hours in minimal traffic and an easy route (I90>I84>I91), in case you need to decide between coming into Boston or New York.
posted by General Malaise at 9:49 AM on October 8, 2015
posted by General Malaise at 9:49 AM on October 8, 2015
PS a cursory glance at Expedia gives me round-trip flight options leaving Sacremento tomorrow for Boston round-trip for $~500.
posted by General Malaise at 9:52 AM on October 8, 2015
posted by General Malaise at 9:52 AM on October 8, 2015
The ITA matrix is showing the following cheaper options, if you're willing to drive:
posted by Johnny Assay at 10:09 AM on October 8, 2015
- SFO to either Westchester County or Newburgh for ~$450
- SFO to New Haven, ~$475
- SFO to Manchester, ~$675
posted by Johnny Assay at 10:09 AM on October 8, 2015
If you're flying because of a death in the family, most airlines will give discounted bereavement fares
Just FYI, these are rare these days and usually not cheap. They are discounted off full fares, but those are already at peak cost, so they can be in excess of $600 for a cross-country flight. And they require paperwork. It's actually often much cheaper and simpler to find a lower-cost flight on your own.
posted by Miko at 10:13 AM on October 8, 2015 [4 favorites]
Just FYI, these are rare these days and usually not cheap. They are discounted off full fares, but those are already at peak cost, so they can be in excess of $600 for a cross-country flight. And they require paperwork. It's actually often much cheaper and simpler to find a lower-cost flight on your own.
posted by Miko at 10:13 AM on October 8, 2015 [4 favorites]
Here's a quick selection of flights starting at $282 from nearby airports straight from ITA.
posted by turkeyphant at 10:26 AM on October 8, 2015
posted by turkeyphant at 10:26 AM on October 8, 2015
If you want to try to look for nearby airports, try this but note that those aren't the final official prices. You have to go book the flight to see the current price.
posted by AppleTurnover at 12:52 PM on October 8, 2015
posted by AppleTurnover at 12:52 PM on October 8, 2015
Several times when i've needed to fly somewhere at short notice cheaply, i've checked out the "hotwire bargain fare". Basically you don't get to choose anything but the day you leave and the airport of departure/arrival. Then they pick the airline and flight time.
It's not, however, always the cheapest. It was always among the cheapest but most recently i ended up choosing to spend ~$30 more to get less ridiculous times and a non-stupid layover. Other times though, it's been ridiculously cheaper. Like, almost half the price even.
posted by emptythought at 4:57 PM on October 8, 2015
It's not, however, always the cheapest. It was always among the cheapest but most recently i ended up choosing to spend ~$30 more to get less ridiculous times and a non-stupid layover. Other times though, it's been ridiculously cheaper. Like, almost half the price even.
posted by emptythought at 4:57 PM on October 8, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by barchan at 9:32 AM on October 8, 2015 [4 favorites]